Bring all of nature that is possible into the kindergarten—colored leaves, autumn flowers, deserted nests, chrysalides, bare twigs, etc. Ask the children to bring, during the week, whatever they can find which shows that autumn has come. To revive the memories of summer and contrast summer and autumn, is the special aim of this talk. Reach back to spring and forward to winter incidentally.

The thought of autumn as the harvest time and the time of preparing for winter should run through all the talks at this season of the year.

THE TALK

Who can remember the first day we came to kindergarten this year? What can you remember before that? Why did we not have kindergarten then? What do we call that time of year when the weather is so warm? Tell me something about the summer. If the children have been to the city parks or gardens or playgrounds, speak of the beauty and advantages of such places, not forgetting to give credit to the city for providing them. Did any of you go to the seashore? Tell us about it.

Did any of you go into the country? to a farm? What was the farmer doing? Taking care of what he had planted in the spring—cutting the grass, raking and taking in the hay, hoeing corn and potatoes, weeding the garden, etc. Tell me what some of the animals were doing in the summer. Farm horses working, cattle enjoying the pasture, squirrels, birds and insects playing merrily in the woods and fields.

(Contrast all these summer activities with the autumn doings at the farm and in the woods.) Is it summer now? Let us see how many signs we can think of which show that autumn is here. Once upon a time some little children had been talking about the signs of autumn just as we have, and they asked a friend of theirs to write some autumn verses for them. They told her just what to put into the verses. Suppose I tell you what she wrote. Listen carefully and see whether we had thought of all the signs of autumn which the verses mention. (Read or recite slowly "An Autumn Song.")

The warm summer had gone and autumn had come with its cooler winds, when one day, the hickory tree said to its leaves: "My pretty yellow leaves, you need not take care of the baby- buds any more, as it is time for them to put on their winter clothes. But I think the flower seeds would like to have you help them now. Are you willing to go down to the ground in order to help them?"

"Yes," said the leaves, "we would like to help the dear little seeds to be flowers." So they dropped to the ground, and covered it, that the little seeds might not freeze in their winter home in the earth, but might live to make plants and flowers in the spring.

Then the hickory tree said : "Baby-buds, it is time for you to put on your winter clothes, so that you can keep warm all winter and open into leaves in the spring." "We are all ready," said the buds; so the tree gave them their coats. The outside coat of each bud was a gum coat to keep out the wet. "Why, that was a waterproof coat! How funny for the buds to have waterproof coats." Yes, it is strange, but if you learn how to look, you will find out a great many strange things.

After the little side-buds had been given their winter clothes, the tree said: "My little end-buds, you are so much more exposed to the cold than the other buds that you must be dressed more warmly than they are." So the little end-buds put on one coat after another, till you would have thought, to look at them, that they were at least twice as large as the side-buds, and their gum coats had to be a great deal bigger than those of the others.

I saw an end-bud of a hickory tree once that had twelve coats on it.

Then all the baby buds said: "Thank you, dear tree, for our winter clothes. Now we can keep warm until spring."

An Autumn Song
by Emilie Poulsson

The song-birds are flying

And southward are hying,
No more their glad carols we hear.

The gardens are lonely,—

Chrysanthemums only
Dare now let their beauty appear.

The insects are hiding,—

The farmer providing
The lambkins a shelter from cold.

And after October

The woods will look sober
Without all their crimson and gold.

The loud winds are calling,

The ripe nuts are falling,
The squirrel now gathers bis store.

The bears, homeward creeping,

Will soon all be sleeping
So snugly, till winter is o'er.

Jack Frost will soon cover

The little brooks over;
The snow-clouds are up in the sky

All ready for snowing;

—Dear Autumn is going!
We bid her a loving "good-bye."

The Kind Old Oak
("Little Flower Folks, Vol. I")

It was almost time for winter to come. The little birds had all gone far away, for they were afraid of the cold. There was no green grass in the fields, and there were no pretty flowers in the gardens. Many of the trees had dropped all their leaves. Cold winter, with its snow and ice, was coming. At the foot of an old oak tree some sweet little violets were still in blossom. "Dear old oak," said they, "winter is coming; we are afraid that we shall die of cold."

"Do not be afraid, little ones," said the oak, "close your yellow eyes in sleep, and trust to me. You have made me glad many a time with your sweetness. Now I will take care that the winter shall do you no harm."

So the violets closed their pretty eyes and went to sleep; they knew that they could trust the kind, old oak. And the great tree softly dropped red leaf after red leaf upon them, until they were all covered over.

The cold winter came, with its snow and ice, but it could not harm the little violets. Safe under the friendly leaves of the old oak, they slept and dreamed happy dreams until the warm rains of spring came and waked them again.

The sturdy old oak took time to think, "I hate such glaring
hues
The gillyflower, so dark and rich, I for my model
choose."

So every tree in all the grove, except the hemlock sad,
According to its wish ere long in brilliant dress was
clad.
And here they stand through all the soft and bright October
days;
They wished to be like flowers, instead they look like huge
bouquets.

The Chestnut Boys
by Helen Louise Towne

In a warm little bed, in a little green house, Mother Nature had tucked three baby boys safely away for a long sleep.

The house was not like the ones we live in, for it had only one tiny room, with no windows, and the door was fastened so tightly that no one could get in or out.

For many, many bright sunny days the little boys were sleeping, and all this time they were growing a little larger and a little larger, just as you all are growing.

But by and by the days began to grow cooler. The green leaves put on their autumn dresses of red and yellow, and came rustling down from the tree to play with the wind.

Then the babies stirred in their little bed, for the Wind was busy painting brown their green house, and he whistled so loudly at his work that they heard him in their dreams. Close behind the Wind came his friend, Jack Frost, a roguish little fellow. Gently he knocked at the door of the house, and softly he whispered, "Come out, little boys; come out and play with me!"

But Mother Nature only tucked her babies more snugly into bed, and answered: "No, not yet, dear little ones ; sleep a little longer!"

Then Jack Frost went away to play with the red and yellow leaves; but soon he came flying back, calling, "Come out for & frolic with me, boys ; come out for a frolic ! " And again Mother Nature answered: "Not yet! not yet, my children!"

Again came Jack Frost, and knocked very loudly at the door: "Come out! come out!" he called. And the little brothers cried, "Yes, yes, dear Mother, let us go and play with Jack Frost and the Wind!"

Then the mother smiled, a little sadly, and answered: "Yes, for you have grown to be big boys now, and it is time for you to go 1" So she unfastened the door and opened it wide, and out the three hurried. But soon they found that the big world was not at ail like their warm, soft little house. The Wind blew and whistled around them, and made them shiver; and Jack Frost was a rough playfellow, though he meant to be kind, and they soon grew weary and called to their mother: "Dear Mother Nature, we are tired; put us to sleep again!"

Then the mother spread over them, where they lay on the ground, a warm covering of "red and yellow and faded brown."

By and by she heard their sleepy voices again: "Kind Mother, we are cold!''

Then Mother Nature sent a soft, white covering of snow, and wrapped them in it so nicely, that they had hardly time to murmur "Thank you, good Mother," before they were fast asleep.

And there they will stay, till the warm sun and the gentle breezes and the soft rain wake them in the sweet springtime.

Can you guess who the little brothers were, in their snug, warm house?

They were the Chestnut boys, and the brown burr is their little house.

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I'm a left-leaning Catholic mama of four teenagers (homeschooling one), who is passionate about books, art, all things vintage, nature, and so much more. Our learning is holistic and classically-inspired, with the goal of nurturing curiosity, creativity, and a lifelong love of learning.